The embodiments described herein relate generally to a system that employs an x-ray imaging system and, more particularly, to a container handling system that distinguishes containers and objects therein as either originals or counterfeits.
Many known supply-chain merchandise systems process a large number of packages annually, i.e., numbering in some cases in the millions. Typically, there are a number of transfer points for the packages, e.g., loading and unloading points for aircraft transport, sea-based transport, and land-based transport. Also, many transfer points include temporary storage for the packages while awaiting the next mode of transport to receive the packages. As such, any one package may change hands a number of times as it is transported from its origin to its final destination, and a number of opportunities for substitution of original items with counterfeit items is presented. Such items include, but are not limited to, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, luxury items, and perfumes. For the particular case of counterfeit pharmaceuticals, there is additionally a substantial health risk with medicines that are either ineffective or poisonous.
Many known x-ray transmission techniques, based on object density, are often used to identify counterfeit products. Such x-ray techniques however reveal only 2 dimensions of density information, namely, 2-D spatial projection coordinates. Therefore, while some physical anomalies associated with, e.g., wire bond and missing die in electronic components are detectable, pharmaceutical analyses are more complicated. Some known x-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) systems are used for screening drugs. However, because in some instances, the small samples of substances of interest are ground into powder, and the associated detection system may not pinpoint the location of the suspect materials within a large package or suitcase. As such, opening of the suitcase or package for a manual inspection will be necessitated, and the screening process may take an extended period of time, i.e., hours, thereby limiting the potential for such XRPD systems to screen a large number of packages with a throughput that facilitates large-scale and expeditious shipping.